"Legacy Of Gird - 01 - Surrender None" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

УSirЕ stewardЕ I would be glad to. If my father allows.Ф
УHe has said it.Ф The steward smiled, then. УDorthan, your son Gird is accepted
into service of the Count Kelaive, and here is the pirikЧФ The bargain-sum, Gird
remembered: not a price paid, as if he were a sheep, but a sum to mark the
conclusion of any bargain. The price was somewhat else.
The very next morning, Gird left at dawn to walk through the village to the
countТs guardsТ barracks. None of his friends were out to watch him, but he knew
they would be impressed. The guard at the gate admitted him, sent him straight
across the forecourt to the barracks. The guards were just getting up, and the
sergeant was crosser than Gird remembered.
УGet in the kitchen first, and serve the food; then you can clean for the cooks
until after morning drill. IТll see you then. Hop, now.Ф
The porridge was much like their own, if cooked in larger pots and served in
bigger bowls. Gird carried the dirty bowls back, and scrubbed them, under the
cookТs critical eye, then scrubbed the big cookpots. Then it was chop the
onions, while his eyes burned and watered, and chop the redroots until his hands
were cramped, and then fetch buckets of clean water. All the while the cook
scolded, worse than his oldest sister, while mixing and kneading the dough that
would be dumplings in the midday stew. The sergeant came in while Gird was still
washing down the long tables. УRight, lad. Now letТs see what weТve got, here.
Come along.Ф He led Gird out the side door of the kitchen, into a back court, a
little walled enclosure like a barton with no byres. In one corner was the
kitchen well, with the row of buckets Gird had scrubbed neatly ranged along the
wall.
The sergeant was just as impressive as ever, to GirdТs eye: taller and broader
than his own father, hard-muscled, with a brisk authority that expected absolute
obedience. Gird looked at him, imagining himself grown into that size and
strength, wearing those clean, whole, unmended clothes, having a place in the
village and in his lordТs service more secure than any farmer.
УYouТre a hard worker, and strong,Ф the sergeant began, Уbut youТll have to be
stronger yet, and youТll have to learn discipline. Begin with this: you donТt
talk unless youТre told to, and you answer with СsirТ any time I speak to you.
Clear?Ф
Gird nodded. УYesЕ sir?Ф
УRight. YouТre here to learn, not to chatter. Dawn to dusk, one day of tenЕ can
you count?Ф
УNot really, sir.Ф
УNot really is no. CanТt count sheep, or cows?Ф
Gird frowned. УIf theyТre thereЕ but not days, sir, they donТt stay in front of
me.Ф
УYouТll learn. Now, Gird: when you come here, you must be clean and ready to
work. If you canТt wash at home, come early and wash here. IТll have no ragtags
in my barracks. Is that your only shirt?Ф
УNo, sir, but thТotherТs worse.Ф
УThen youТll get one, but only for this work. Do you have shoes? Boots?Ф
Gird shook his head, then remembered to say УNo, sir.Ф Shoes? For a mere lad? He
had never had shoes, and wouldnТt until he wed, unless his father had a string
of good years.
УYouТll need them later; you can wear them here, but not at home. Did you have
breakfast at home this morning?Ф Of course he had not, beyond a bit of crust;